How You Can Make Your Pup Your Workout Buddy

Sometimes it can be nice to have a workout buddy, and for some folks, their ideal exercise partner is actually their dog! Now hear me out, as there are a lot of fabulous reasons to take Fido with you when you workout such as safety and company, as well as the fact it provides them with a change of scene and sometimes some exercise of their own. With that in mind, read on to find out about the things you will need to do if you want to make your dog your number one exercise partner.

Assess their temperament

The first thing that you will have to do is assess your pup's temperament. Are they well trained? Can the heel when instructed, and do they return when off the leash? If the answer is no then taking them along when you exercise can be more trouble than it's worth. This is because it's likely that you will be more concerned about whether they're going to behave themselves than with focusing on your activity or routine. Something that can be very distracting and negatively impact your workout, instead of positively affecting it.

It is also vital that if you are taking your dog out on runs and walks with you that they are well behaved around other dogs. After all, there may be others running with their pets too, and it can be very disruptive and even dangerous if your pooch is unable to control themselves.

Running with your dog is a popular exercise choice. Picture source

Pick the right activity

Next, you have to make sure that the activity that you pick matches both what you want to do, and the fitness level of your dog. It's no good taking up running, if your canine companion is 15 years old, can't see where he is going and has doggie arthritis!

Of course, if you do want to take an older, or less fit dog along for the ride while you exercise it's best to pick an activity like cycling where you can pop them in a trailer at the back. See this rundown on which is the best bike trailer you can buy for some advice on the different types that are suitable for pets. Remember by using a trailer, they get the benefit of being outside in the fresh air, without it putting too many trains in the body.

Be patient

Last, of all, it is truly vital for a good exercise partnership between human and canine to start slow and be patient with them at first. This is because it is a fairly alien concept for most dogs, and they will not be used to exercising this way with a human.

That shouldn't mean they can't get the hang of it after a couple of times though. You just need to give them space to adjust and not expect them to be experts on the first try. If you can do this and follow the rest of the advice above you can quite easily make your pup your regular workout buddy.